ribbon cutting

Tomorrow, November 3rd, is Opening Day for the Saratoga Farmers’ Market winter season! The market will be held from 9 am to 1 pm every Saturday, from now through the end of April, inside the Lincoln Baths building at 65 South Broadway in the Saratoga Spa State Park.

Just before the 9 am opening bell tomorrow, Saratoga Mayor Meg Kelly, NYS Parks Assistant Regional Director David Barone, Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau president Darryl Leggieri, Spa State Park General Manager David Guest, and longtime local conservationist Barbara Glaser will share in a brief ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the start of the winter market season and the benefits of having the year-round Saratoga Farmers’ Market.

Then, at 9 am, customers can head indoors to shop from over 40 farmers, specialty foods vendors and local artists, hear acoustic music, and enjoy the camaraderie of connecting with the community on Saturdays throughout the winter in a beautiful and fully accessible historic building.

The musical guest for November 3rd will be an unplugged version of the ever popular Running the River band; information about additional upcoming Saturday musicians, sponsors of children’s activities, and other guests can be found on the calendar page of www.saratogafarmersmarket.org. Also on the website is a link to sign up for a weekly email newsletter, making it easy to find out about seasonal vendor offerings and special community events.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market has been in operation since 1978 with a commitment to providing local products from Saratoga county and surrounding Schenectady, Rensselaer, Washington and Warren counties. For the next six months on Saturdays at the Lincoln Baths, customers will find a wide variety of fresh, locally grown autumn and winter vegetables, fruit and mushrooms. Also available all winter season will be locally produced meat, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese, yogurt, milk, homemade baked goods, jams, wine, spirits, soap, and freshly prepared and ready-to-eat foods. New farms at this year’s winter market are Ramble Creek Farm, Squashville Farm, Green Jeans Market Farm, and Saratoga Urban Farm.

In addition to farm products, the winter “Holiday Market,” offered every Saturday in November and December, provides unique hand-crafted clothing, jewelry, elegant glass art, gourmet dog food and treats, baby items, and other artisan goods perfect for gifts for everyone on a holiday list.

Eggs and ham sizzling; vendors in flannel cupping cups of coffee; a ribbon cutting and the clang of a bell. These sights, smells, and sounds are markers of the Saratoga Farmers’ Market outdoor season at High Rock Park.

The market celebrates the start of its outdoor season at 9 a.m. Saturday, with a short step back to the past: acknowledgment of a City of Saratoga Springs commemorating the market’s 40th anniversary, welcomes from Mayor Meg Kelly and State Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, and introductions of some of the market’s original vendors.

Then the ribbon will be cut and the season will begin.

Going outdoors for farmers, home food producers, and other local creators of artisanal foods and crafts is like a seasonal ritual, transitioning the farming cycle away from the stored foods of winter and moving toward the new growth of spring and bounty of summer and fall.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is about feeding the body as well as the senses. The market is a producer-only market that ensures at least 70 percent of its vendors will be purely agricultural while also creating space for other local businesses to thrive.

The result is a community fest every Saturday morning and Wednesday afternoons that involves eating alongside entertainment and education about living in sync with the seasons.

This week, check out the big bags of spinach from Owl Wood Farm, $1 off. Visit Grandma Apple’s Cheesecakes and pick up two individual sized cheesecakes for $8, or $4.50 for one. And for your garden stop by Scotch Ridge Berry Farm, which will be among the vendors offering vegetable starts.

The market will have community tables and a free children’s activity as it does every week. Running the River will perform, as it does on the first Saturday of each month, helping to make music also a market staple.

“Knowing other is a means of helping one another when possible or when necessity occurs,” says Clark. “May we see 50 years, then 75 years and 100 years of operating as a farmers’ market.”

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at High Rock Park. Look for us on the new FreshFoodNY app. For volunteer opportunities, contact friends@saratogafarmersmarket.org.